The present invention relates to a blade for use in a safety razor, and more particularly to a ceramic blade of that type, and the method of manufacturing the same.
Various blade constructions and shaving units have been disclosed in the prior art wherein the blades have been shown constructed of glass or other vitreous materials to form a blade suitable for employment in a shaving implement. For example, a ceramic cutting blade is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,543,402 issued to R. M. Seager and a blade manufactured from at least two vitreous materials is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,466 issued to Hicks, Jr. Other blades of glass construction are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,387 issued to Siegmund et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,071 issued to Walter P. Siegmund. It is also suggested in the prior art that a plurality of similarly shaped hollow blades may be formed into a razor unit and such devices are shown in the above cited U.S. Pat. No. 3,805,387 issued to Siegmund et al as well as U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,360 issued to Cerier et al.
While the above attempts to create a non-metallic razor blade may be successfully accomplished, it is considered that there is a need for a more simple structure having fewer steps in fabrication in order to meet the requirements for mass production of blades in those quantities achieved in razor blade manufacture. As is obvious, the employment of a plurality of separate elements which must be fused or formed in some manner to produce the final product requires handling of a plurality of materials as well as a number of assembly and treatment steps to produce the final blade structure.
It is also evident that the employment of a plurality of components combined with a complex process renders a blade of the type under consideration costly to manufacture and therefore not applicable to employment in a razor of the discardable type which is prominent in the market today.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a blade for use in a safety razor having a unitary structure which is simple to manufacture and which may be produced economically.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a blade of the type under consideration which may be manufactured under mass production techniques.
Another objection of the present invention is to provide a blade for use in a safety razor which is simple to care for during the shaving process, and is easily cleaned during the shaving process.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a blade from a block of ceramic material which is simple to perform and adaptable to mass production techniques.